Florida: 5 Things To Know For Feb 27

Hurricanes_JoJo_Nicolas_2013

Your daily look at news, upcoming events and the stories that will be talked about today.

MAN EXECUTED FOR PIPE BOMB DEATH OF FLORIDA TROOPER

A man who booby-trapped a microwave oven with a pipe bomb that killed a Florida Highway Patrol trooper has been executed. Authorities say 48-year-old Paul Augustus Howell was pronounced dead at 6:32 p.m. Wednesday after a lethal injection at Florida State Prison. Howell was condemned for the February 1992 killing of Trooper Jimmy Fulford, who died in an explosion after opening the gift-wrapped microwave during a traffic stop.

EX-UM FOOTBALL PLAYER DEAD AFTER CRASH

Former University of Miami football player JoJo Nicolas has died a day after getting into a car crash on a Miami Beach highway. Nicolas’ brother, Abner Davis, said Nicolas died around 5 p.m. Wednesday. Nicolas played defensive back for the Hurricanes from 2007 to 2011. In 2012, he briefly signed with the New York Giants as a rookie free agent.

ANOTHER CUBAN 5 SPY GETTING RELEASE FROM US PRISON

Another member of the “Cuban Five” spy ring is getting his release from U.S. prison after spending more than 15 years behind bars. Bureau of Prisons records show 50-year-old Fernando Gonzalez — known to U.S. authorities as Ruben Campa — will finish his sentence Thursday at an Arizona prison. Miami federal prosecutors say Gonzalez will be deported to Cuba.

FEDS APPROVE DISASTER RELIEF FOR OYSTER INDUSTRY

Apalachicola Bay and Florida’s oyster industry are going to get some financial assistance from the federal government. State and federal elected officials said Wednesday that the U.S. Department of Commerce has approved $6.3 million in disaster assistance funding. Gov. Rick Scott said the money can be used to help the restoration of Apalachicola Bay and assist affected oystermen.

WOMAN SUES NUDIST COMMUNITY OVER SERVICE DOG

A blind resident at a Pasco County nudist community has sued the resort association, saying that she’s been harassed because her service dog exceeds the community’s weight limits. Paradise Lakes Resort resident Sharon Fowler says the the association has told her to only walk the dog in specific areas and that the dog must move out of the way of pedestrians. Fowler filed a civil rights lawsuit in Pasco court.

Source: Associated Press